This invention relates generally to urinals and more particularly to wall and/or floor mounted urinals designed to minimize splashback, odor and water consumption. The invention also relates to urinals having custom covers having a shape and color/pattern to complement the room.
Mens' restrooms typically contain wall and/or floor mounted urinals. These urinals provide convenient access for male patrons to urinate. Additionally, these urinals save space and reduce the amount of water otherwise used by water closets.
A common problem with conventional urinals is the phenomenon known as splashback. Splashback occurs when droplets of urine are deflected back at the user due to the force of the user's stream of urine hitting a surface of the urinal. See FIG. 5a. This can cause offensive marks on the user's clothing as well as a health hazard. The force of flush water also can cause splashback to occur.
Another common problem with conventional urinals is that they often emit a foul odor. When the stream of urine contacts a surface of the urinal, some of the urine droplets will vaporize. Minimizing splashback will greatly reduce the amount of odor generated by a urinal and will alleviate health risks.
Also, conventional urinals typically consume a gallon or more of water per flush. While low water consumption urinals and water free urinals have been proposed and have enjoyed limited success, they still suffer from splashback, and often emit a foul odor.
Several inventions have been directed at correcting these problems. Innovations aimed at the splashback problem include a conical shaped urinal, a v-shaped urinal with an offset apex, and a urinal with splatter shields. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,448; U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,563; U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,107; U.S. Pat. No. 6,470,504. The drawback of these designs is that while the urine stream is deflected in a different direction, the amount of urine that becomes vaporized is still an odor and health problem.
Still other inventions have been aimed directly at treating the odor problem. These solutions include urinals with ventilation systems and urinals with drain traps. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 704,471; U.S. Pat. No. 2,646,574; U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,473; U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,845.